24 August 2011

Human Slaves Cheap

Free the Slaves President Kevin Bales was on the radio show 'State of Affairs' on Louisville, KY'sNPR station WFPL this week, talking about modern-day slavery. In this interview, Bales discussed the distinction between human trafficking and slavery, saying "human trafficking is simply a process by which people are brought into a situation of slavery." But, he continues, human trafficking victims "are only a smaller part of the slaves in the world."

He also discussed the alarmingly low cost of slaves today. At the height of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, back in the mid 1800′s, the average cost of a slave in the U.S. was the equivalent of $40 to $50 thousand dollars in today's money. Today, the average cost of a human being is a mere $90. There are more slaves today than ever before in history—an estimated 27 million.